3108 feet in elevation gain
average speed: 16.4 mph
We started today believing it would be one of the more difficult days, but in reality we'll be lucky if we have other days as easy as today was. Yes, it was long, but we had a beyond wonderful tail wind to keep us company. We managed to average 16.4 mph even with roughly 30 miles of chip seal and several rolling hills. It was a good day.
We started out the morning trying to figure out the best way to leave Spokane. We had looked up directions on Google maps, and while they got us going the correct way, there were several nonsense directions that we just skipped. For example, it said turn right when the road was to our left, but we kept going straight and somehow managed to come out in the intended spot. We were on Little Spokane Road, and it was beautiful. Smooth and lightly travelled. We saw our first wildlife - several deer, including 2 who jumped a 4 foot fence from a complete standstill, and a couple mother turkeys with oodles of babies.
Once we left Little Spokane we spent the rest of the day on Highway 2. There were pros and cons to the route. We had the great headwind, lovely scenery and a really wide shoulder, but we also had lots of chip seal and traffic. There were some rolling hills, but nothing too major. We stopped in Newport at a farmers market for a rest, and were informed that things get much hillier after Sandpoint. At one point, going through Priest River, we pulled off the road to let traffic through and Dad found a poppery at the thrift store. It might be the highlight of the trip for him!
Dad and I are staying in a cabin for the night. A couple rent the cabin out to cyclists (we got their information from the Adventure Cycle maps). Jim wanted a hotel with a lake view, which we're also currently utilizing for wifi. The cabin is super cute, and comes complete with an outdoors bathroom. It should be a great place to stay.
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